'No excuses': Rodgers rusty, Jets open with loss

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — This time, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers accomplished a move on his fourth snap of the season — a shovel to operating again Breece Hall, who promptly fumbled.

It was that sort of season opener for Rodgers, whose extremely anticipated comeback was spoiled by errors and poor performances on each side of the ball in a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

“They’re a championship-level group — and I hope we see them then,” Rodgers stated of the 49ers, ending his postgame information convention with a touch of optimism.

Rodgers, who tore his left Achilles on the fourth snap of the 2023 season, noticed his first in depth motion in 20 months. He turned the twenty second quarterback within the Tremendous Bowl period (since 1966) to play after his fortieth birthday. There have been just a few classic moments for the four-time MVP, however he wasn’t happy along with his return efficiency.

“It is a powerful opener for us, travel-wise and schedule-wise, however no excuses,” he stated. “We now have to play higher and I’ve to play higher and we’ll bounce again.”

Rodgers (13-for-21, 167 yards) stated he “missed a few throws,” together with an off-target move to huge receiver Garrett Wilson that was deflected and intercepted by linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. His spotlight was a 36-yard landing move to huge receiver Allen Lazard — a free play by which burned the 49ers after they jumped offsides.

The star quarterback spent many of the evening on the bench, watching his protection get shredded by the 49ers, who performed with out star operating again Christian McCaffrey. The Jets allowed eight straight scoring drives, one thing they hadn’t carried out in at the least 45 years, in response to Elias Sports activities.

“We’ll get that s— fastened,” coach Robert Saleh stated of the defensive breakdowns.

The Jets had the ball for less than 21:20, the fewest time of possession by an Rodgers-led staff in any begin of his profession. This was Rodgers’ 225th profession begin. The sport was so lopsided that Saleh, a former 49ers assistant, pulled Rodgers with 4:32 left within the fourth quarter.

Afterward, Rodgers lamented the lack to maintain drives, pointing to the struggles on the bottom. Corridor was held to 54 yards on 16 carries; he additionally had a drop and the fumble on the shovel move.

Bodily, Rodgers stated he felt “nice,” including, “yeah, it has been some time. … Quite a lot of gratitude simply to be again in pads. So many individuals helped me get to this spot.”

There did not appear to be any main points along with his mobility, however he wasn’t actually examined. He had no scrambles and just one dropback outdoors the pocket.

He was sacked as soon as and was pressured on solely 5 of twenty-two dropbacks, in response to NextGen Stats. Curiously, the sack was registered by Leonard Floyd, who sacked Rodgers on the play that ruptured his Achilles in final yr’s opener.

On this evening, Rodgers’ trademark accuracy wasn’t there on brief passes. On passes of 10 yards of fewer, he accomplished solely 5 of 12 for 46 yards and an interception (not counting designed screens). He completed the day with a ten.7% completion share under expectation, which is his worst mark since 2021 — the third of his 4 MVP seasons.

“We by no means actually gave him an opportunity to get right into a rhythm,” Saleh stated of Rodgers.

Rodgers was victimized by a few huge drops, together with a third-down drop by Lazard on the primary sequence. Corridor stated he apologized to Rodgers after the sport, saying he damage the staff along with his miscues.

“I informed him I used to be sorry I did not play in addition to I may have and as much as my potential,” Corridor stated. “He was identical to, ‘It should be a protracted season, bro. I am not fearful about it. You will be advantageous.'”

Rodgers and not one of the starters performed within the preseason, which can have contributed to rust and timing points on offense and protection. Wilson took umbrage with that, insisting their preparation in coaching camp was advantageous. Rodgers, too, stated, “That is an excuse. I am not going to make use of that. I do not assume we should always. We anticipate greatness after we step on the sector.”

His teammates had been simply glad to have him again.

“It was superior,” Wilson stated. “It was nice seeing him on the market, listening to him within the huddle. We will get higher, however so far as seeing him on the market and him being wholesome, staying wholesome all through the entire sport, it was an excellent feeling.”